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By Ray Hickson

“Just hold your horses” – that’s the message from trainer Chris Waller about the boom on unbeaten filly Espiona, at least until we see how she returns at Randwick on Saturday.

Trainer Chris Waller (Pic: Bradley Photos)

It’s not that the three-year-old doesn’t excite him, she certainly does and he does mention Group 1 ability when talking about her, but he says the hype around Espiona has gone a bit further ahead of what she’s achieved to date.

Plenty will be learned about her in Saturday’s Group 2 $200,000 TAB Light Fingers Stakes (1200m) but at $1.55 with TAB on Thursday it seems the race has virtually been conceded to her.

“You guys have seen as much as I have,’’ Waller said.

“We don’t push the button at home much and you let the racing do the talking. She’s still in that frame for me to look at but everyone who rides her says she gives a great feel.

“The autumn is the making of a lot of good horses. In the autumn you see a lot of changes and we’ve got to make sure she is one of those changes going forward.”

Espiona won on debut at Warwick Farm in October by almost 3-1/2 lengths then rose quickly to Listed grade to score by 6-1/2 lengths at Flemington over 1400m.

On the strength of those wins she’s already a clear favourite for the Group 1 Coolmore Classic, Group 1 Queen Of The Turf and is equal favourite with Anamoe in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile.

And, she’s even on the $13 line for the TAB Everest later in the year.

Before those races she’s already $1.70 to win the Group 1 Surround Stakes (1400m) in two weeks.

“It’s exciting to know you might have another great horse,’’ Waller said.

“Any Group 1 horse gives you that feeling. We’re doing everything methodically and making sure she is well prepared for a first-up run.”

In the second of her trials, Espiona mixed it with some of the best sprinters around finishing a close third behind Wild Ruler and Nature Strip in a 900m heat at Rosehill on January 31.

Waller said with only the two starts so far there’s still plenty to learn about Espiona, including her distance limits, but she’s taking everything in stride at present.

“I’m not worried about her experience too much. I forgot she’s only had two starts,’’ he said.

“To me she’s like a horse that’s had four or five starts. She’s improving but she’s still going to be vulnerable if it’s only her third career start.

“I haven’t worked out her distance yet. If we’re getting a bit one paced she’ll go Phar Lap and Vinery but if she’s sharp enough we’ll find shorter races.”

To that end, Espiona is nominated for a variety of races in The Star Championships from the 1200m of the TJ Smith to the 2400m of the Australian Oaks.

It’s easy to forget Waller has other promising fillies in the Light Fingers in Group 1 placed Hinged and the emerging Fangirl.

Espiona runs third in a trial at Rosehill on January 31

The latter shouldn’t be forgotten, according to Waller, as she has just as much upside as Espiona.

Fangirl created a big impression in her own right in the spring with a hat-trick of wins starting in a Goulburn (provincial) maiden, and taking in the Listed Reginald Allen (1400m) and Group 3 Carbine Club Stakes (1600m).

“I’m just as excited about her as I am about Espiona,’’ Waller said.

“Not in terms of what she’s done so far but how she’s going to go through the autumn.

“To me she looks the perfect Vinery horse. It’s a tricky thing getting them to come back as a three-year-old filly but she has the writing on the wall to be a perfect Vinery filly and maybe on to the Oaks.”

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's meeting at Royal Randwick